Obama’s Approval Rating Hits 3-Year High As America Breaks Into Cold Sweat Over His Replacements

According to a new Gallup poll, President Obama’s approval rating is the highest it’s been since May 2013, which makes sense, considering the two candidates most likely to replace him. On the one hand, we have Donald Trump who, as Slate points out, would be the least-liked nonincumbent nominee since at least 1992. On the other hand, we have Hillary Clinton, who’s not exactly beloved either. Meanwhile 50 percent of people surveyed said they approve of the job the president is doing in his last year in office — a 4 percent increase from last year. This year’s average is also higher than his 47 percent approval rate in2009.

Naturally, the president’s approval ratings fluctuate when split along party lines: 87 percent of Democrats approve of his performance while only 11 percent of Republicans feel the same. His ratings are higher than those of George W. Bush, who left office with a dismal 32 percent approval rating, but lower than Bill Clinton’s, who finished his term with an approval rating of 63percent.

As Gallup so tactfully notes, “while it’s hard to pinpoint precisely why Obama’s approval rating has risen among Democrats recently, the unusual status of the Republican primary race — exemplified in particular by front-runner Donald Trump’s campaign style and rhetoric — may serve to make Obama look statesmanlike in comparison.” The polling site also suggests that Obama’s high approval among Democrats might be the reason Hillary Clinton is “tacking herself tightly to the Obama legacy.” All of which supports what Obama himself has said before: If he ran for president again, he’d totallywin.